Our research group proposes to continue to study in greater depth some fundamental aspects of blood pressure regulation and the pathogenesis of several models of hypertensive vascular disease. In particular we wish to explore the relationship between adrenal cortical dysfunction and the development of hypertension. Models of hypertension will include adrenal regeneration hypertension, androgen-induced hypertension, spontaneous hypertension and renal encapsulation-induced hypertension. Functional studies will include detailed investigation of the mechanisms of cholesterol side-chain cleavage and its relation to cytochrome P450. The possibility that prostaglandins play some role in these models of hypertension will be investigated. An immunoassay will be utilized for detection of minute quantities of steroid hormones as well as prostaglandins in blood. Studies on prevention of hypertension will employ immunization with antibodies to various conjugates of deoxycorticosterone. Resistance of some strains of animals to hypertension will be explored in greater detail. An attempt will be made to correlate the changes in concentration of these hormones with the incidence and severity of the hypertensive vascular disease by quantitative morphological techniques.